Justice News

Newton Investment Adviser Sentenced for Fraud

BOSTON – A Newton investment adviser was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with defrauding clients out of more than $1.4 million.

Paul J. Jackson, 59, of Wellesley, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV to 33 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution. In October 2015, he pleaded guilty to investment adviser fraud and wire fraud.

Jackson owned and operated Paul J. Jackson & Associates, LLC in Newton, through which he managed retirement funds for clients. Beginning in 2010, Jackson started offering clients, close friends, and family members, what appeared to be attractive investment opportunities. The investments Jackson offered typically involved initial public offerings (IPOs) of high-profile companies, but Jackson did not invest the money as promised. Instead, he took more than $1.4 million dollars of investor money for his own use. For example, Jackson stole more than $500,000 from his brother-in-law, and over $400,000 from a close friend, based on a series of phony offers to invest in companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Alibaba. When investors requested their money back, Jackson lied repeatedly, offering false excuses and never telling them that he had simply taken their money. Jackson even used funds taken from a victim to make a partial repayment to another victim he defrauded.

The Massachusetts Securities Division previously filed a separate administrative action against Jackson, charging him with fraud and seeking to bar him from working in the securities industry.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The United States Attorney’s Office received valuable assistance from the Securities & Exchange Commission during the investigation of this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric P. Christofferson of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.